Brett Snyder of Crankyflier.com has more magic wand-intensive wishes.

"My wish for the airline industry is that instead of increasing storm intensity, climate change results in exactly the opposite: Bad weather disappears completely," Snyder said. "Further, aircraft manufacturers come up with a new manufacturing process that not only guarantees airplanes will never have mechanical problems but also allows them to run solely on garbage.

"Without storms and broken airplanes, airlines run 99 percent of their flights on time. Free from the high cost of oil, airfares plunge, and the world learns to love them again. As the owner of an air travel assistance business, this would put me out of work, but it would be well worth it."

A strengthened airline inspection system

William J. McGee, author of "Attention All Passengers: The Airlines' Dangerous Descent -- and How to Reclaim Our Skies," interviewed FAA and airline employees about U.S. inspection of airline maintenance facilities.

McGee says they told him "that the industry's stellar safety record is being compromised by a neverending race to cut expenses, because the traditional model of airlines employing their own licensed mechanics for major service and repairs has been upended in the last decade."

His wish: "That the FAA strengthens its oversight and enhances on-site inspections of airline maintenance facilities."